Multifarious
by Black Rose of Death123
Summary: mul·ti·far·i·ous [muhl-tuh-fair-ee-uhs] adjective 1.having many different parts, elements, forms, etc 2. numerous and varied; greatly diverse or manifold: multifarious activities. Because Rowan should have known that simple is not a word that should ever be used in relation to Damian Wayne. Soulmate AU/Soulmate Identifying Marks AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! I've been meaning to write this for a **_**long**_** time. The first chapter is finally done and I am so happy. Anyway, this is going to be very AU, so please don't kill me for any inconstancies with the comic. If you have any suggestions on something that needs to fixed, like character personality wise, then please tell me. I haven't read the comics, so anyone and everyone will be appreciated. This will be a prologue of sorts, and I don't quite know how the timeline will go as I will be spanning a few years with this story. Much like my other story, The Darkest Caress (A Lords Of The Underworld Fanfic), this will start with chapters that will be anywhere from really short to really long. I will keep them over 1,000 words each, however. The characters will slowly age up. Trust me when I say the time line is actually a hell of a lot less confusing then I make it out to be. It will be no were as near as bad as the DC timeline. (Which made it entirely to fucking hard to figure out everyone's age.) **

**For the purpose of this story, the ages will start off as follows:**

**Rowan Chase: 8**

**Damian Wayne: 10**

**Tim Drake: 12**

**Dick Grayson: 20**

**Bruce Wayne: 34**

**I know the age gaps weren't like that, but I did it for a reason.**

**Anyway please enjoy and tell me what you think.**

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Rowan sat silently and watched as people rushed around the normally spacious kitchen. Cooks put the finishing touches on random dishes and heated those that were to be served warm. Servers went in and out with their silver trays, most of them leaving with yet another round of delicacies. Some of them shot curious glances at her as she sat all alone in the very corner of the kitchen, others gave her knowing looks. It was cramped and she looked as if she was being put on time out, but there really wasn't anywhere else for her to stand without being in the way.

Ms. Stacy prided herself on running a smooth and flawless catering service, if that meant sticking a little girl in the corner than that was what she was going to do. Rowan didn't much like being forced to sit in the corner, but she couldn't really do anything about it. Ms. Stacy was her Mama's boss and Rowan knew her Mama really needed her job. The fact that Rowan had shown up about halfway through the Wayne party was enough to have Ms. Stacy seriously irritated.

Rowan's Mama had been telling her the day before how fancy this party was going to be. Ms. Stacy had been planning for this party for weeks and had wanted to make sure everything was absolutely perfect. She had picked only her best servers and made sure all the food was delicious and yummy looking. According to her, this party was going to be a serious pay day for Stacy's catering. If everything went smoothly, she was hoping that she would be invited back to cater future parties at the Wayne manor.

Having an 8 year old in the kitchen, however, was just asking for trouble. But Rowan wasn't like most other 8 year olds. She knew her Mama needed the money from this job. Besides, she was never one to run around and cause mayhem. But unfortunately, Ms. Stacy didn't know that.

Rowan's Mama had never taken her to work before. She'd never had any intention to either. Her Mama worked on the floor as one of Ms. Stacy's best servers. She spent most of her time in the midst of whatever party she was at offering food or drinks, which was why she didn't even know Rowan was here yet. Right now her Mama still probably thought she was at home in their little apartment with her baby sitter Sara…..

"Baby Girl what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

Or not.

Rowan flinched and looked up to see irritation and worry in her Mama's honey brown eyes. Normally she loved looking at her Mama's pretty eyes, but not right now. Right now she wanted to go home and hide under her covers. She wanted to be away from this giant mansion with all the pretty people and just let her Mama work. She knew she should leave and just go home. She really really wanted to. Except she didn't want to be alone.

"I actually have the same question."

Rowan turned her head only to see that it had been Ms. Stacy who had been talking. She had a mean look on her face and her hands were on her hips.

Rowan pushed her glasses up and stuck her hands in her jacket pockets nervously. Both her Mama and Ms. Stacy looked mad and it made her uncomfortable. She hated when people were mad at her.

"_Well?_" her Mama asked.

Rowan pushed her hands even farther into her pockets and glanced away nervously before talking.

"I, um, I just didn't want… I didn't wanna be by myself."

"Baby that's what I left you with Sara," her Mama replied, voice slightly softened.

The soft note reassured her, and Rowan turned her gaze back towards her Mama. She licked her suddenly dry lips before speaking again.

"She left though…."

There was a long silence before her Mama's voice rang clear.

"_Excuse me?!"_

Rowan winced. She didn't want her Mama to be mad. She shouldn't have come, but she just didn't want to be all alone at home. Especially since she was in Gotham. The things her vivid imagination could come up with terrified her.

"Lower your voice Miranda! I don't want to cause any trouble tonight," Ms. Stacy said with a glare.

Rowan watched her Mama's fist clench in anger before she spoke again.

"Why'd she leave Rowan?"

Rowan scrunched up her nose and pushed her small nails into the palms of her hands.

"I think… I think her boyfriend called? Maybe… I just know that I heard them talking on the phone… And then she came to check on me in my room… She thought I was asleep I think…. And then she left me there and I heard the front door open and close…."

Rowan closed her eyes and forced herself to continue. She hated talking to people. It made her uncomfortable, even if it was just her Mama and Ms. Stacy.

"I thought she maybe just went downstairs…. But then she didn't come back for a while… And I got worried so I went downstairs too but I didn't see her… I know I'm not supposed to leave the apartment at night but I was worried… And then I couldn't find her and I know you don't like me being alone… I remembered where you said you were gonna be so I called a cab… I used the emergency money… I'm sorry Mama…"

Rowan tipped her head forward in embarrassment and let her frizzy hair hide her face.

There was silence again, but longer this time.

Finally Ms. Stacy sighed.

"She can stay, but she has to sit here. I can't have her disrupting my kitchen. And this_ better_ not happen again."

Rowan looked up and saw the look of pure fury on her Mama's face.

"Oh trust me. This won't happen again. IT WON'T HAPPEN EVER AGAIN BECAUSE NEXT TIME I SEE THAT FUCKING BITCH I'M PUTTING MY FUCKING HEEL UP HER ASS!"

Her Mama's voice had risen steadily as she had spoken, but unfortunately Ms. Stacy had not been able to silence her before she reached an all-out shriek. Every eye in the kitchen turned towards them and Rowan wanted to just die. She could feel her brown skin heat up in a hot blush. It got worse as a fancy looking white haired man walked towards them.

"Miranda if you don't calm down right now I swear I _will_ fire you!" Ms. Stacy whispered hurriedly.

Rowan watched as her Mama squished her anger. Her jaw was still noticeably clenched, but she had calmed down considerably in just a few moments. It seemed it was just in time too.

"Is everything all right Miss?" the white haired man asked in a British accent. The look on his face was more concerned than anything, yet it still made Rowan feel uncomfortable.

Before Miranda could answer, Ms. Stacy began speaking.

"Everything's just fine Mr. Pennyworth. Please, this doesn't normally happen. Miranda," she said gesturing to Rowan's Mama," is one of my servers. The little girl is her daughter. Her baby sitter left so she's just going to sit here. Miranda is going to go back out on the floor, and I assure you that there will be _no more trouble._" She finished with a pointed look at Rowan and her Mama.

The man, Mr. Pennyworth, turned a sympathetic gaze towards Rowan. It only increased her need to hide.

"Well now, such a nice little miss shouldn't have to sit in a corner all night. She hasn't done anything wrong. If you'd like I'm sure Master Wayne wouldn't mind if she used one of the entertainment rooms for the night."

Rowan sucked in a breath. As long as there were people in the house or it was the daytime she didn't mind being alone, in fact she preferred it. But this was different. She didn't want to go to some room in this giant place. She wanted to stay here.

"Oh! No thank you. We don't want to be a burden. She'll be just fine here. Besides, I don't really want her to be alone." Miranda replied.

Just as her nerves started to settle, another, new voice spoke up.

"I was just leaving the party. She can keep me company."

Rowan turned towards the voice. It was a boy, maybe a few years older than her. He had dark gelled hair and the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. He stood expressionless in an expensive looking tuxedo with his hands in his pants pockets. Other than the fact that he was dressed really fancy, he looked normal, if a little bit exotic, to her 8 year old eyes. Yet there was something about him that set her on edge. And that was saying something considering the fact that she had been ready to die in a hole for the last 15 minutes. She really didn't want to go with him.

Before Rowan could so much as let out a squeak of protest, however, her Mama began to speak in a relieved voice.

"Oh you're so sweet! You're sure your Dad wouldn't mind? I really don't want cause any trouble."

The boy gave Rowan's Mama a look that she didn't understand before replying.

"It's fine, she can come with me now," he said. And with that, he turned and began to walk away. Dumbstruck, Rowan stayed completely still even as her Mama pulled her up and pushed her towards the boy.

"Ro, I need you to go play with him until Mama is done working okay? It might be really late though, so you two go to sleep if you get tired."

Before she could even answer, her Mama had given her a kiss on the cheek and she was making her way back to the party. Not wanting to be stuck under the irritated gaze of Ms. Stacy, Rowan scrambled after the boy. By the time she caught up to him, he was already walking out of the kitchen door. She thought it was kind of mean that he hadn't stopped for her, but she decided to keep that to herself.

As they walked, Rowan tried not to freak out over the fact that he simply walked through the halls without turning on any of the lights. The dim light from the moon was more than enough to see, but walking through such fancy hallways in the dark was really creepy. It made it seem as if the portraits that lined the walls were staring at her. The very thought made her shiver and she moved closer to the boy. For the first time since offering to take him with her, he glanced over his shoulder.

One word flashed through her mind as the dim lighting made his green eyes flash.

'_Beautiful'_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Damian had almost forgotten about the young girl behind him before he'd heard her shuffle closer to him. He glanced back at her and caught large brown eyes shining back at him. He raised one eyebrow at her even as he continued to walk, and she blushed and looked back down, fidgeting with something in her pocket as she did so.

'_Weak.' _He thought with disgust.

He turned his gaze back in front of him, scoffing at her.

He had half a mind to dump her in the nearest room, but he knew Pennyworth would most likely check on them within the next few hours. If word got back to his Father that he'd left the party without a 'proper reason', then he'd probably be made to go back. The thought of going back to the useless gathering when he could be patrolling or something equally worthwhile angered him to no end. With a scowl on his face, he looked at the girl once more.

When he'd heard a commotion in the kitchen, he'd gone to investigate and he'd found the perfect 'reason' to leave the party. His Father had been imploring him to act his age for quite some time, and what better way than for him to 'play' with another child? Of course Damian was planning on seating her in front of the TV in the game room, then gathering intelligence on a local mob boss using his computer, but Bruce didn't have to know that. He'd stay in the same room with the girl, and make it look as if they were simply watching television together. Besides, the girl seemed deathly shy, so he figured that she wouldn't bother him too much. Hopefully that would please his Father, and the man would begin to take him more seriously.

Once they reached the game room, Damian flipped the light switch without breaking his stride and moved to turn on the TV. Once done, he turned to see the girl gawking at the room, completely frozen in place. He glanced around at the large flat screen TV, pool table, and the multitude of games before rolling his eyes.

"Well don't just stand there like an imbecile, sit down already."

He watched as she flinched, then slowly made her way towards the couch he was standing in front of. She sat, obviously trying to take up as little room as possible. The girl was already tiny, however. She couldn't be more than 6 or 7.

He dropped the remote in her hands before heading towards the door.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Watch whatever you wish, but don't leave."

He didn't wait for a reply before leaving. As he'd said, it only took him a few minutes to gather his laptop and a few other choice items. He came back to the room and only spared enough of his attention to make sure she was still there before focusing on more important things.

He made his way over to her and sat down, computer in his lap. As soon as the machine was booted up and ready to go, he began his project. As seconds turned into minutes, and minutes became hours, Damian began to notice things. The first was that his assumption that the girl would not bother him was completely correct. She hadn't said a word, nor had she even really moved. The second was that the news was playing on the TV. It was the channel that had been on when he'd turned on the television, and it seemed she hadn't changed it. Now that wouldn't have bothered him, especially considering the fact that the news channel was usually the only channel he watched, if not for the fact that the girl was so young.

'_Shouldn't she be watching cartoons or some other vapid show?'_

Curious, he looked over at her, only to see that she wasn't paying the slightest attention to the TV. In fact, she wasn't paying attention to anything in the room at all. Instead, all of her focus seemed to be on the twine she was fiddling with. Frowning, he turned all of his attention towards her. She seemed to be looping the twine in intricate knots, over and over again. The knots were not anything he was familiar with, however, so he watched her carefully.

After a while, she seemed to feel his gaze on her.

She looked up at him and watched with interest as her brown cheeks darkened with color. He'd never seen someone blush quite so much.

"Hi," she said softly after a couple of seconds. He sighed at the fact that she would probably spend most of her time talking in that irritatingly quiet voice of hers.

"How old are you?" he found himself asking.

She raised her hands and held up some fingers.

"Eight then? You're small for your age."

She looked back down at her knots and shrugged. Once again curious, he watched as she tied a few more knots. As she did this, he began to wonder how it would turn out on actual rope. Would it be harder to break out of?

"What is that?"

She looked back up at him, obviously not expecting his question.

"It's, um, I'm making a friendship bracelet." She said while holding it up closer for him to see. It was only about three inches long. He sighed, and restated his question. It was obvious that she hadn't correctly understood him.

"Yes, I am aware. What type of knot are you using?"

Her eyes widened in understanding, and she let out a small 'oh'.

"It's a star pattern. Usually you use lanyard string, but I wanted to see how it would look on twine…"

"Show me."

She stared at him for a second before slowly moving closer and bringing her bracelet up farther. They both bent towards it as she softly explained it to him. After doing so, she handed it over so he could practice. As he tied it, he decided that it probably wouldn't be particularly useful for tying people up, yet his interests were still slightly peaked. After perfecting the knots in just under a minute, he handed it back to her.

"How'd you learn it so quick?" she asked, eyes wide and voice full of amazement.

He smirked at her before answering.

"I have superior learning abilities. Do you know how to do any other knots?"

She simply looked at him, before shoving the left sleeve of her jacket up. She shoved her arm towards him and he was faced with a colorful array of bracelets in different patterns all the way up to her elbow.

"I can do these. I have more string if you want me to show you." She said, blush back on her face.

Damian glanced at his watch. It read 10:23. The party would probably go on for hours yet. That was plenty of time. Damian smirked at the thought. Tim was probably going to be stuck in there all night.

'_Idiot's probably fuming at the fact that I got to leave.'_

"Show me how."

"Which one?"

"All of them."

Her eyes widened and she gaped at him.

"But-"

"Hurry up, you're wasting time."

She immediately shut her mouth and flushed.

"Um, okay. Let's start with this one then…"

She pulled out a wad of string from her pocket and told him to pick four colors, and they began.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**4 Hours Later**

"Once again, I am _so _sorry about this. I swear if you hire us again this won't happen." Miranda said to the handsome man beside her. Bruce Wayne had sent his eldest son to help her find her way to Rowan, and she was extremely embarrassed by the night's events to say the least.

"For the last time, please don't worry about it. Damian doesn't get out enough, and I'm glad that he got to spend the night with another kid. Besides, I know for a fact that he was just dying to leave the party." Dick's voice was friendly as he spoke, and it put Miranda at ease. Well, as much as she could be given the situation. The moment she got home she was going to put Rowan to bed and go find the little bitch that dared to leave her baby all alone. And to think, the little whore hadn't even bothered to call by now! Rowan had been here for hours, and that girl had to have gone back to the house already. As soon as Miranda found her, she was going to show her a whole new type of hell.

She was broken out of her hate filled thoughts by the sound of Richards's voice. She smiled at the sound of it. It was low and smooth and made her think of all kinds of sinful things.

'_Man, the tabloids sure as hell got it right when they said this one was a panty dropper.'_

She slowed her stride to make it seem as if she was admiring the admittedly beautiful decor, when in fact she was actually just checking out the man's rather fine ass.

"Talk about buns of steel…" she muttered to herself.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Dick said over his shoulder.

Without missing a beat, she lied straight through her teeth.

"I was thinking about getting steel toed boots so that I could properly kick my baby sitters face in."

That probably wasn't the best thing to say to the man, but she could honestly care less. Besides, he was laughing.

"It's a shame, it seems like you just can't trust people these days."

"Tell me about it." She replied, thinking of every nasty word she could call Sara once she saw her.

After passing a few more doors, Dick stopped in front of one at the very end of a hall. Miranda sighed in envy of all the very beautiful and very expensive things she'd seen tonight.

"They should be in here. I wouldn't be surprised if Damian was still awake, though your daughter might not be." He said in that deep baritone of his.

Miranda smiled at him, before thanking him again.

"No problem," he said while opening the door. Instead of walking through it, however, he stood in place.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, beginning to worry.

He immediately snapped out of his daze and gave her a dazzling smile.

"Of course not, I'm just surprised to see, well, this." He said quietly, pointing into the room.

He moved out of the way so she could gaze in.

She immediately had to hold back a squeal. Damian was sitting on the couch asleep with his head in his hand, while Rowan was slumped against his side. They were surrounded by the twine she'd given Rowan for her 7th birthday, along with movies, candy, and popcorn. The screen in front of them was in the middle of the movie Mulan, and it was obvious they'd fallen asleep halfway through it. All in all they looked absolutely _adorable._

"Do you mind if I take a picture? I mean, Damian never usually acts like this, and I just-" Miranda had to stop him there.

"Say no more, just make sure I get a copy."

He smiled at her and nodded before speaking in a small whisper.

"You know if we wake her up, Damian's going to wake up too, and it is late. If you'd like, you can come get her in the morning."

Miranda frowned. As wonderful as that sounded, she had to get up and work at the salon tomorrow. She wouldn't have time to come back to get Rowan, and Rowan's Gran was still out of town.

"I'd love to, but I have work."

"Oh that's no problem; Alfred can take her home for you."

"Really? Oh I don't know, I've already caused so much trouble tonight."

"I insist. Damian's never even had a sleep over before. This would be good for him."

Miranda was surprised by the information. What kind of 10 year old has never had a sleep over? She decided to dismiss it, however, and take Dick up on his offer. After all, that would give her time to deal with Sara before Rowan got home. She brightened at the thought.

"Are you sure that would be okay with your father?"

"Oh trust me, Bruce will be ecstatic."

"Then that would be wonderful, thank you."

"No problem. I'll have her call you when she wakes up. Does she know your number?"

"Of course, thank you so much Mr. Grayson."

The man smiled as he shut the door and began the long trek back towards the main entrance.

"No, thank you. And you can call me Dick."

Miranda laughed, and followed him out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all! Surprised I'm updating so quickly? Well so am I. Frankly, I'm very proud of myself u.u**

**Anyhow, read, enjoy, and review. Also shout out to seeds123 who is lovely and wonderful and whom I love very very much. Xoxoxox my dear. **

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

'_94, 95, 96, 97,'_

Damian silently counted as he lifted himself, over and over. He'd been doing his morning training regime for hours, and he was nearly done.

Just as he reached one hundred pull ups, however, there was knock on his door. Grunting, he dropped to the floor. Rolling his shoulders, he opened the door. He stared at the two people in front of him with a scowl.

"You're early."

Instead of the response he'd expected from the girl, Pennyworth answered.

"Actually Young Sir, I informed you that Ms. Rowan would be arriving early just last night."

"I wasn't listening," he replied, glancing at the fidgeting girl in front of him.

"I am well aware Sir. Anyhow, I'll leave the Young Miss in your care for now. As always, I am here if you need anything." With one last smile towards Rowan, Pennyworth took his leave.

Damian stepped back from his doorway with a glower. He'd known she was coming, but he'd planned for her to be there at 10 am, well after he was done with his workout.

He directed her to the seat by his desk before going to get a towel to wipe off the sweat that had accumulated on his body. After drying himself, he switched out his shirt for something drier.

"Did you bring the movies?" he called from his place across the room. He didn't even need to really ask considering the fact that they were the only reason he'd even invited her over. A few months ago while they'd been practicing different patterns, they'd run out of string. He'd been dismayed and ended up telling her to pick a movie to occupy herself until her mother came for her. He'd never even looked at the massive DVD collection in the game room before, so he'd had no idea what she picked. Curious, he'd watched only to find out that it was some odd combination of a musical, cartoon, and nature documentary that she'd called The Lion King.

For the most part he'd spent the duration of the movie picking out various flaws. She'd laugh, and sometimes even give her own input on his opinions, albeit very quietly. It became a sort of game for them. To his surprise, he'd actually enjoyed himself. He'd told her to put in another movie, and they continued on much the same way. At some point, he had even felt relaxed enough to fall asleep.

His internal clock had woken him up at 5 am the next morning, and he'd been startled to find Rowan still there. Confused, he'd called for Pennyworth and asked him what was going on. The butler had told him that Rowan's mother had allowed her to spend the night.

"Why?" he'd asked, blunt as ever.

Pennyworth had explained something about not wanting to wake her up so late and letting them enjoy each other's company. Damian had scoffed and told him to prepare breakfast. He'd gone back to the game room hours later, fully intending to wake her up, get her fed, and send her on her way. Instead he'd found her already awake and watching another movie. He'd sat down and they'd continued their 'game' almost as if they'd never stopped. Somehow they'd managed to eat breakfast and go through his entire Disney collection before she went home.

On her way out, she'd mentioned that she lived above the ice cream parlor her Grandmother owned, and that he was welcome anytime. Rowan had given him the name of the establishment as well as the location. He supposed that it was really her mother who had extended the invitation, but he'd decided not to say anything.

For a while, he'd simply forgotten about it, but then one night on Patrol he'd passed by a small two story building with a sign that said 'Rose's Sweet Treats'. Remembering what she had said, he'd decided to go the next day. After all, since Richard had introduced him to the wonderful world of junk food, he'd seemed to have quite the sweet tooth. To his chagrined delight, he'd found that not only did they sell delicious ice cream, but they sold pastries as well. It was because of that very reason that he found himself at the shop once again, not two days later.

When he'd gone, a demure looking old woman had been behind the counter. He'd assumed that she was Rose, but decided to not to mention her granddaughter. The second time he went, however, was greeted by the sight of Rowan sitting at one of the small round tables reading a book. He'd gotten his sweets and ignored her for the most part, but he knew she would notice him eventually. When she did, it was rather obvious, for he caught her staring over her book from her tiny pair of glasses.

He'd raised one eyebrow, and then asked her if she planned to sit there and stare all day. Blushing, the girl had gotten off her ass and walked over to him. It had been painful watching her stand there and practically exuded awkwardness, so he'd told her to sit down. She followed his instructions, and satisfied that he'd fulfilled all of his social duties for the day, he'd eaten his ice cream in silence.

Or at least he had until she finally found her voice and spoke up.

"What flavor are you eating?"

He'd looked at her with a blank expression and replied "Coffee."

She'd smiled and he remembered thinking that her dimples made her look even younger.

"Coffee is a good flavor, but it's even better if you get it with chocolate almond. Oooh, and it's even better with an almond tart."

As she spoke her voice had risen, and she had been practically jumping in her seat.

"You know I think I've seen less enthusiastic people begging for their lives," He'd told her, smirk on his face.

She'd blushed crimson and simply shrugged, effectively calmed. By then he'd been done with his treat, so he'd gotten up to leave.

"Maybe I'll try it next time," he'd told her on his way out.

And he had. It had been delicious, and as he ate she gave him even more suggestions that had him coming back, day after day. Every time he went, their conversations seemed to slowly drift into other topics like books, and TV shows. He had even ended up helping her with her disgustingly easy homework a few times. (Although he had to admit that she wasn't stupid, she just had atrocious hand writing and she simply needed him to make sure it was legible.)

Eventually, after talking about their impromptu Disney movie marathon, she'd mentioned something about Pixar movies and Studio Ghibli. Intrigued, he'd and invited her over the upcoming Saturday without so much as asking Alfred, let alone his father. After calling her Mother to confirm, she'd bid him goodbye for the day with a small smile and a promise to bring over all over her movies.

When he'd told Alfred that he would be having company soon, the butler had wasted no time in informing his father. Not even an hour after he'd told Alfred the news, Bruce had gone to Damian's room to inquire if it was true.

"Of course," Damian had said, "of course if you'd rather not have her over-"

His father had cut him off quickly with a quick stream of encouragements. That is, until the situation fully sunk in.

"Wait, her? Do you mean Irey or Lian?"

Damian's thoughts had gone fleetingly to the two girls and he rolled his eyes. He'd only met them briefly a few weeks ago. They weren't _horribly_ intolerable, unlike Drake. But still, after a while they grated on his nerves.

"No, Rowan's coming over. We are watching movies Father."

"Rowan? Oh, you mean that server's little girl from the gala we had a few months ago."

"Of course," he'd replied.

At that point, it seemed even Richard had been informed, because he had been standing in Damian's doorway.

"I didn't know you even still talked to her, Dami."

Damian scowled at the pet name Richard insisted on before he replied.

"Well it was none of your business in the first place."

"Wow, someone's defensive." Richard had retorted, throwing his hands up in defense.

"I'm not defensive. I am simply stating a fact. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have some harlot to bed somewhere?"

Richard had pulled a face and put his hand over his heart.

"Ouch Dami, that really hurt. Is that what you think of me?"

They'd continued like that for a while before his father put an end to it. Damian had continued to go to the ice cream parlor every day for the rest of the week, and at that point he had to face the fact that he was no longer going _just_ for the ice cream. Eventually the week had flown by, and Saturday had come.

And now here she was, sitting completely silent.

"Well?" he said while turning to face her. She was staring at her lap, and jumped when he spoke. Her eyes darted towards him, and then back down as she blushed.

"Um, yes. They're in my back pack."

He rolled his eyes before making his way to his bedroom door.

"Come on then, let's go."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Rowan shuffled behind Damian awkwardly as they made their way towards the game room. It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was just that he was a bit… Intimidating. He was taller than her, and she was pretty sure he was a lot stronger too. On top of that, he had very strong opinions and he wasn't afraid to voice them.

She'd figured that out when five minutes into The Lion King, he began ranting about just about everything. From the singing to the way the animals looked, he always had something to say. Honestly, it had been kind of funny… So she'd laughed. The first time, she'd clapped her hand over her mouth, afraid of what he might do. To her surprise, he'd simply took one glance at her and continued. Encouraged by his behavior, she'd began to relax, and actually had fun. They managed to continue the easy mood the following morning, and everything had been great.

Things had gotten even better when he'd started coming to Gran's parlor. As grumpy as he was, she found that he was actually pretty easy to talk to. Gran watched her every day after school, and it was nice to not have to sit alone as she tended to the customers.

Her Mama had been really happy when Damian had invited her over again. Rowan didn't have a lot of friends, and her Mama was excited that she'd finally met someone she got along with. On top of that, she'd also jumped on the chance to smooth things over after the whole party incident. All in all, Rowan's Mama was probably more excited than she was.

Clearing her throat, Rowan worked up the courage to say something.

"So do you know what kind of movie you want to watch?"

It took a while before he answered, and for a second Rowan thought that she'd spoken to softly.

"What kind of movies do you have?"

His voice was even, and he didn't sound annoyed like he had when she'd first came. That wasn't to say that his voice wasn't without infliction, however. After two months of talking with him, she'd come to learn that half of everything he said came out slightly offensive. Almost as if he was ready to bite your head off if you made one wrong move. She found that after a while, however, he softened quite a bit.

"I've got romance, fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure. Fantasy is my favorite though."

He hummed in acknowledgment as they reached the game room, and walked over to the entertainment center before he answered.

"We can watch a fantasy movie then. I think I'll rather enjoy picking out all of the improbabilities."

Even as she once again took in the sheer splendor of the room she was in, she found that she was smiling softly at his words. The room was exactly the same as she remembered, but somehow in the midst of her fatigue, she hadn't been able to quite catch the true essence of how amazing it really was.

Now however, after a full nights rest, she could see that was far bigger than she had realized. Directly in front of her there was, of course, an entertainment center. It held the biggest TV she'd ever seen, and boasted surround sound speakers and comfortable leather couches. Next to the TV, there was a case that had to be at least seven feet tall filled to the brim with DVDs and video games. Behind the entertainment center, there was a pool table off to the left, and a mini bar that she knew contained candy and popcorn kernels as well as alcohol. To the right there was an actual full sized popcorn machine. Not only was everything in the room state of the art, but it was kept spotless as well. In conclusion, she was absolutely terrified to touch anything and kind of wanted to leave.

That would be rude, however, so she simply made her way to towards Damian and sat down on the other end of the couch. She unzipped the back pack she'd brought, and began to pull things out. She unloaded her movies, and smiled once she reached the containers at the bottom of her bag.

"Do you like peanut butter cookies?" she asked, turning towards Damian.

He looked away from the TV he was changing to the proper channel to answer her.

"Yes, why?"

She grinned brightly, and showed him the two containers filled to the brim with the cookies she'd made the night before. Last year her Gran had taught her how to bake, and ever since she'd been baking at least once a week. So far she could only make peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, but she was going to try to make a cake soon.

"I brought some. I have chocolate chip too."

He stared at her before saying "Well what are you waiting for? Open them up."

She laughed before pulling the tops off and setting them carefully on the dark coffee table in front of them.

She watched with bated breath as he took a chocolate chip cookie and bit into it. As he chewed, he noticed her staring.

"Did you make these?" he asked.

She nodded, and chewed on her bottom lip.

He simply continued to eat the cookie as he messed with the TV. By the time he was done, the cookie was gone, and he was looking at her expectantly.

"So which movie did you pick?"

She quickly picked up her favorite movie of all time without even thinking about it. She handed it to him and watched as he slipped it into the DVD player while reading off the title.

"Princes Mononoke?"

She kicked off her shoes before pulling her knees up to her chest and answering.

"Mhm, it's my favorite."

He silently read the back cover while walking over to the couch. As the trailers played, he paused in his tracks. He was glaring intensely towards the door, so Rowan turned.

She felt her face heat as she caught site of Damian's older brother, Richard, almost completely filling up the doorframe with a camera in his hand.

"Say cheese!" he said, camera flashing.

She watched as Damian shot off towards him with a yell.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Richard laughed and lifted the camera above his head as Damian made a grab for it.

"I'm capturing memories! To think, our little Dami has finally made a friend."

She watched, trying not to laugh as Richard wiped away an imaginary tear. And then immediately afterwards she gaped as Damian aimed a high kick at his brother's stomach. To her utter amazement, Richard caught Damian's foot.

Damian wrenched his foot out of Richard's grasp and righted himself.

"Give me the camera, Grayson," he said, voice as low as he could possibly get it at his age.

"Oh so now we're back to Grayson? And to think, I was sure we had made so much progress."

"You better not show those to anyone or so help me Grayson I will take your camera and shove it so far up your a-"

Richard cut him off before he could finish his threat.

"Oh would you look at the time, well, I'm off to do other things now. Have fun you two!" and with that he was gone.

Damian let out a sound of frustration before stalking back towards Rowan. By now all of the trailers had finished, and the menu screen was on. Damian sat down and pressed play, while Rowan sat and watched him from the corner of her eye. He looked kind of like an angry puppy to her in all honesty. Except he was an extremely mean, extremely mouthy angry puppy who apparently knew martial arts.

Eventually, when she saw that Damian had begun to calm down, she let herself get distracted by the movie. About 20 minutes in, Damian finally spoke.

"They're really good."

Startled out of her movie trance, Rowan turned towards him with an "Hm?"

He was eating another one of her cookies, not looking her way.

"The cookies, they're pretty good."

She felt a genuine smile bloom on her face, and it only seemed to widen at his next comment.

"But that wolf, on the other hand, is ridiculous."

"Well it has to be big enough for her to ride."

He let out the odd "Tt" sound she'd come to think of as completely Damian.

"She could have just ridden a horse like normal people."


	3. Chapter 3

**I am mentally slamming my head against the wall. I literally have about 10,000 words written for this story. But I can't post any of it, because every scene I wrote doesn't happen until at least 3 more chapters into the story. It's fucking ridiculous. Aaany way. I absolutely adore seed123 and LucyRider17 for reviewing (Also that random guest. You a babe). You give me life. :3 So I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but if it's any consolation I have over 4,000 words written for a sexy scene that won't happen for like, 10 chapters. That doesn't make you feel better? Well it doesn't make me feel better either. Anyway, enjoy this fluff that has literally been bouncing around inside my head for like, 14 months. Please tell me what you think, Reviews keep me alive long enough to write this stuff.**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Damian, why are we at an ice cream parlor?"

When Dick had told him that Damian not only had a friend, but that she was a civilian who Damian _didn't_ constantly patronize, Tim knew he just had to meet her. Though he lived in the manor, he'd still managed to miss the one time he'd brought the girl over, and somehow Damian had managed to avoid Tim every time he'd gone to visit her for almost a year. After a brief conversation though, Tim had managed to convince Bruce that Damian needed an escort, and the man had practically forced Damian to wait for Tim the next time he went out. But now, well now they were at an ice cream parlor, and Tim was so tired of Damian's bullshit.

"Well?"

Damian rolled his eyes and looked at Tim like he was an idiot.

"She lives _above_ it. Can you be any more of an imbecile Drake?"

Tim clenched his jaw.

"I'm not. How was I supposed to know she lives here?"

Instead of answering, Damian walked through the door, forcing Tim to follow. He looked around, and found that the shop was very pleasant. There was a good amount of people milling around, eating their respective treats. The décor was mostly soft pinks and whites. It had multiple square tables scattered across the room, and they were spaced far enough apart to provide a comfortable experience. The counter spanned across the entire left side of the room, and a pretty good selection of ice cream was on the right side of the counter, while pastries were displayed in a shiny case on the left. A friendly looking elderly woman was behind the counter, and he assumed she was the Rose who the shop was partially named after. She wore a soft smile on her face, and her presence seemed to add to the comforting atmosphere of the shop.

"Hi Damian, I see you've brought a friend with you this time?" the woman asked, slightly leaning on the counter.

"Tt. He's not my friend." Damian scoffed.

Tim walked up to her and stuck out a hand. He was a good height for his age, so reaching over the counter didn't provide much difficulty. Secretly, Tim took pleasure in the fact that it would be hard for Damian.

"Hello Ma'am. I'm Timothy Drake, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She laughed, and reached out her hand to return his greeting.

"Well you're a polite one aren't you?" she asked, grin still on her face.

Tim dropped his hand and shrugged.

"I try."

"So if you're not friends, what are you?"

Damian was waiting by a door that Tim assumed lead to the kitchen, but he answered anyway and Tim winced.

"He's just another stray that my father decided to adopt. Now come along Drake, you're wasting time."

Suddenly much of the chatter from the parlors patrons quieted, and Tim wanted to tell Damian off so bad he could taste it. That, however, would cause a scene, so he just balled his fists and moved towards Damian.

"So you two are brothers then?" she asked.

Neither one of the looked back, and they spoke at the same time.

"He is _not_ my brother."

Tim followed Damian through a kitchen that smelled like sugar and butter, and then watched as Damian pulled open a door on the opposite side of the kitchen. The entrance opened to a flight of stairs, and Tim trailed after Damian as he went up them. The steps ended at a cozy room, where an African American woman and what looked to be her daughter were seated and watching TV.

Tim hung back and observed as the girl noticed Damian's entrance and jumped up to greet him. Her skin was lighter than her mother's, so he assumed she was mixed, and she had tiny glasses and freckles. Her wild hair was up in a ponytail, and she was barefoot in basketball shorts and a hulk t shirt. Tim didn't miss the irony.

"So what exactly are we painting on your wall?" he heard Damian ask. At that, his eyebrows rose.

"Wait, we're painting?"

For what seemed like the first time, the girl, Rowan, and her Mom noticed him.

They both stared at him, and he found himself feeling awkward.

"Er, hi. I'm Tim. Tim Drake. I'm uh, Bruce adopted me." He found himself saying. Well, that was smooth. But he'd figured he might as well get the 'who are you' out of the way before a repeat of downstairs happened.

"Hello." Rowan said, wide eyes blinking. She looked a bit weary of him, and he had the distinct feeling she was using Damian as a human shield.

"Well okay," the woman said, "I'm Rowan's Mama, Miranda Chase. You can call me Aunty if you want."

"Uh, okay."

Tim didn't know how he felt about that. He looked towards Rowan, and he saw that her wide brown eyes were on him.

"We can chain him out back if you want. We don't even have to leave him a bone or a bowl of water if it's inconvenient for you." Damian said casually.

"Damian!" Miranda said, trying to sound admonishing, but ruining it with her thinly veiled laughter.

Tim scrubbed his face and focused on Rowan.

"I swear we don't raise him to be this vicious."

She smiled at him, and he noticed that the action brought out the dimples on her childish face.

"That's okay. Come on." And she began walking down a short hallway to her left, Damian at her heels.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So what exactly are do you want us to do?"

Rowan smiled, she couldn't help herself. Damian was going to be so irritated. Instead of answering right away, she waited until they were at her door before pointing at the giant leafless tree on her wall.

"We're gonna draw rainbow leaves."

The looks on their faces were things of beauty.

"You don't expect us to draw them _all_ by hand do you?" Damian asked, disbelief on his face.

Rowan just laughed and nodded.

"Well that explains why you wanted us here so early." Tim muttered.

"She only wanted _me_ here. You just tagged along like the lost little mutt you are." Damian snapped sour expression still on his face.

Rowan just sighed at the insult; she was used to Damian's meanness by now. Tim, however, took it to heart. . To be honest Rowan didn't really mind, but it was obvious Damian did. She figured that there had to be some underlying things going on there.

"You're calling _me_ a mutt? You rabid little shi-"

"Aye!" Rowan's Mama yelled from the living room, "Watch your language!"

The tip of Tim's ears went pink.

"Sorry!" he yelled back.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to the paint sitting by Rowan's wall, steadily avoiding Damian as he did so. He picked up one of the thinner paint brushes, and turned to Rowan.

"I'm not much of an artist, but I can try a few leaves if you want."

Rowan smiled at him, and nodded. She began walking over, stopping to latch onto Damian's shirt to pull him with her. He pulled her hand away roughly, but Rowan just ignored him and grabbed back on. Once they reached her wall, she picked up a paint brush and wrapped Damian's hand around it.

After making sure he wasn't going to drop it, she picked up her own and dipped it in the can of purple paint, then started on a leaf. She watched as slowly, her tree came to life, leaf by leaf. Eventually, she glanced towards Tim. He was working on his sixth or seventh leaf, and when he caught her looking he turned and smiled. Rowan smiled back and turned towards Damian.

While he was painting, he didn't look particularly happy about it. She assumed that he was still angry about Tim, and she didn't much like it. In a split decision that she'd probably regret later, she dipped her brush in her paint, then swiped it across Damian's cheek.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, green eyes flashing.

Rowan simply blinked at him, then turned back towards her wall to start on another leaf. She'd just started the first swoop when she felt a wet blob dripping down her cheek. She jumped, and wiped at her face. Her hand came away covered in green paint.

Rowan met Damian's eyes and saw the mischief in them.

"You really want to start this?" she asked, one tiny eyebrow raised.

He smirked at her, so she dipped her fingers in paint and flicked them at him. He dodged, and picked up one of the thicker brushes to completely paint her other cheek. She squeaked as the slimy liquid stuck to her skin and filled her nose with the sharp smell of house paint. This time, she dipped her entire hand and moved to get Damian, who'd moved to her other side.

Tim, who it appeared had been so quiet in an attempt to muffle his laugh, instead got paint smeared across his front. His laughter stopped, and he stared back at her with wide blue eyes. Rowan froze, and stared at him.

"I'm sorr-" she was silenced by the glob of blue paint Tim managed to hit her square in the chest with.

She gasped, and used both hands to get a glob of her own. She chucked it, and Damian, now standing by Tim, managed to get stained with purple too.

Both boys jumped, and Tim started laughing.

"Oh it is _on_." He said, flinging paint at her.

She laughed, and threw some back. As paint flew around her, Rowan couldn't help but feel accomplished. They were having fun.

Tim went to throw another blob at her, but for once, Rowan managed to move fast enough and she zipped behind Damian. To her chagrin, Damian twisted around and picked her up, holding her in place as he dipped both of their hands and red paint and shoved them in Tim's face.

Tim yelped, and picked up the orange paint and splashed the entire can at them. Both Rowan and Damian were now nearly dripping, and he dropped her. She rolled out of his way as he pushed Tim against the wall and dumped pink paint over his head.

Tim shoved Damian back and tried to keep paint from his eyes. Luckily for him, his bangs kept the paint mostly away. The pink paint over his hair made him look mostly like a drowned rat, and it had Rowan in stitches on the ground.

When her laughter died down, however, Rowan noticed that both the boys had gone silent. She looked up, and she was met with two weary gazes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Damian answered first.

"Drake ruined your wall."

"You little liar! I did not!"

"You left a _handprint_-"

"You _pushed_ me-"

"You threw paint-"

"We all threw paint!"

Rowan watched them go back and forth, and took note about how close they were getting and how their muscles were tensing. She decided to interject before they could start world war 3.

"It's okay!"

They both stopped and turned towards her. She took a deep breath, and scrambled to her feet. She walked over to her wall, and she could see what they were talking about. Right on a branch, there was a hot pink hand print. For just a second, she was disheartened, but then she got an idea.

She pressed her hand on top of Tim's hand print, glanced back, and then continued to make handprints using whatever paint that happened to be on her body. After a second, the boys caught on. Tim was to her left, and Damian was to her right.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Tim asked hesitantly after a minute.

"Yup. It looks cool." She said, laughing softly.

Damian hummed in agreement, and she turned to see him staring at Tim's first handprint, now filled with her own.

"You have really small hands." He stated.

Rowan shrugged, then found one of Damian's prints and placed her paint covered hand over it. Though Damian was younger than Tim, his hand was still bigger than Rowan's. Both boys dwarfed her, but it didn't bother her much.

"You two want to see if you can stay the night?" she asked after a while.

Tim looked surprised, but Damian just nodded.

"Your Mom will let us?" Tim asked.

Rowan looked at him in confusion.

"Why wouldn't she?"

Tim's ears one again turned pink, but Rowan decided to let it slide. Besides, she had to think about how they were going to make this work. She'd only ever had Damian over, and they were going to need more blankets. And more food. Always more food.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh look, another one. So I'm not sure about this chapter, so tell me what you guys think? The next one should be up soon, and that one has waaaay more relevant stuff in it. Read, review, and enjoy. Also, I still love you all.**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rowan's always loved the holidays. Lots of food, lots of love, and lots of presents. A good time all around.

So it was for this very reason that she just couldn't understand why Damian was surly when they came around. She goaded him left and right, but he never gave her a straight answer. Eventually, she let it go. That is, until her Mama came to her room on Thanksgiving Eve, saying she had a call from Tim.

She took the phone, almost looking half as confused as she felt, and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rowan. Normally I'd ask you how you've been and everything, but I'm actually calling because we have a bit of a problem."

Rowan was still confused.

"Uh, okay."

"Have you seen Damian today?" he asked, sounded absolutely exhausted.

"Um, no. Is he missing?"

Rowan knew Damian could take care of himself, but she was still a bit worried.

Tim sighed.

"In a way. He threw a tantrum and stormed off about two hours ago. I wouldn't worry about him too much."

"Have you called Colin?" she asked. A few months ago Damian met the ginger kid. She'd never met him, but Damian mentioned him every now and again. She figured since he didn't sound annoyed when he did so, that he might have gone wherever Colin was. She sincerely doubted he was with Lian, Irey, or Jai. (Not to say he wasn't fond of them, in his own way. He just got annoyed with them far to quickly.)

"You know who Colin is?" he asked, sounding surprised, "Wait, never mind. We already called him. He's not there. Look, thanks for your help. I think we're going to have to comb the town for him. Not that the little asshole's worth it."

The last part was mumbled, and Rowan didn't think she was meant to hear it.

Rowan frowned. While he hadn't come to her, she had a few ideas as to where he might have gone.

"Um, I think I might know some places he might be."

"Really? Where? The quicker we get him home the less time we have to waste feeding into his over-the-top behavior."

Tim sounded pissed, and Rowan just knew that if Tim found Damian first, there was going to be a fight.

"Uh, how about, I uh, show you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Are you sure? It's getting late."

"Gimme a sec."

Rowan glanced at her clock, and then put her hand over the bottom of the phone. It was about 7:34.

Luckily, her Mama was standing at her door so she didn't have to shout.

"They can't find Damian, can I help them?"

Her Mama gave her a look.

"It's dark out babe. And what is Damian even doing out? I don't think I like this. I don't know if I want-"

Rowan knew this looked bad, and she knew where her Mama was going with this.

"Mama! Please? You know Damian's not bad, he's just…"

Her Mama snorted.

"A pain in the ass? Yah, I know."

Rowan winced. Well, her Mama wasn't exactly wrong.

"But Mama…"

Her Mama looked at her, and as she did so, her gaze seemed to soften.

"One hour. That's all you get. And if this becomes a habit, I promise you there's gonna be a problem."

Rowan smiled, and gave her Mama a hug. She picked took her hand off of the speaker to tell Tim the news.

"My Mama said it's fine."

"Well okay… Dick's driving. We'll be by in a few minutes."

"…Kay…" she said, staring at her lap.

She was just wearing a t shirt, and she should probably put on some pants.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tim was done. He was done with constantly arguing with Damian, he was done with always having to watch his back, he was done listening to his friends and family getting constantly insulted, and he was _completely_ done with Damian's constant bullshit. If he had it his way, they'd leave Damian on the street to rot.

But it wasn't up to him, so now they were on their way to pick up Rowan. Who Tim still didn't understand. Who in their right mind would hang out with a homicidal asshole like Damian?

Still fuming, Tim didn't notice that they'd pulled up to Rowan's home until Dick nudged him.

"Switch places with Stephanie. Rowan knows you better and she's already really shy."

Tim did as he was told, and as he left the car he noticed Rowan waiting at one of the tables with her Mother.

'_Oh that's right,' _Tim thought,_ ' 9 year olds with odd food obsessions and glasses.'_

As Tim waved her over, Stephanie slipped out of the back seat. For what seemed like the millionth time that night, Tim was struck by how beautiful she was. God, he couldn't believe this girl was his girlfriend.

She greeted Rowan with a hug, and Tim took note of how much the girl tensed.

"Oh aren't you adorable. It's a good thing you're wearing a hoodie, it looks like it's going to rain." Stephanie's comments had Rowan blushing and shuffling awkwardly, so Tim decided to hurry things along.

"Come on, let's hurry up before it actually does start raining. Rowan you can sit in the back with me."

She nodded, and slipped into the car after waving at her Mother. Tim climbed in after her, and Stephanie took the front seat. After they were all settled in, Stephanie turned around.

"You already know Tim and Dick, but we've never met. I'm Stephanie, Tim's girlfriend."

When Stephanie said girlfriend, Dick chuckled and Tim could feel the tips of his ears go hot.

Dick chuckled, and turned towards Rowan as well.

"So where exactly are we going?"

Rowan seemed to wilt under their combined gazes, and she began fiddling with one of the strings on her hoodie. As she did so, the rain began to pick up outside.

"Can we, uh, go by Gotham City Park first?"

Dick raised his eyebrows.

"You think he'd be at a park?"

She shrugged.

"Well okay I guess."

Rose's sweet treats was near the center of the city, right where the park was. It took them only a matter of minutes before they arrived, with idle chatter between Dick and Stephanie to fill the silence. When the park was in sight, Dick slowed.

"Rowan, you can stay in the car with Tim while Steph and I look for Damian. Is that okay?"

She turned form where she'd been staring out the window to look at Dick.

"No."

"No?" Dick asked, amusement coloring his voice.

"If he's here, he'll just be walking along the outer edge of the park. It's easier just to drive."

Tim was skeptical.

"You're sure about this?"

She simply hummed her approval and turned back towards her window. The side she was on put her closer to the sidewalk, so she had a better view than him. Tim settled back into his seat, and prepared for yet another wild goose chase.

That is, until Steph spotted Damian trudging ahead of them, side nearly grazing the low wall bordering the park. Dick sped up and rolled down Stephanie's window.

"Dami! Come on, get in. We're going home."

Tim sighed at Dick's exclamation. There was no way Damian was going to come with them. And he was right, because Damian simply continued walking, completely ignoring them.

"He's not going to come with us, he's too stubborn." Tim said, deciding to put in his two cents.

Stephanie, however, was not ready to accept that.

"Come on Damian! Stop being so stubborn! You're acting childish!"

At that, Damian finally looked at them, sneer on his face.

"The only childish one is you, shouting out a window like some kind of heathen. Just go home Fatgirl. "

Dick, ever the coddler, decided to try a different approach.

"Come on Dami, we're all going to miss you at Thanksgiving."

"Not all of us." Steph muttered sarcastically.

Damian walked faster.

"Um, can you stop the car please?" Tim almost missed Rowan's voice, quiet as she was.

Dick glanced back, but didn't say a word as he stopped. Once he pulled over, he turned around.

"Is something wrong?"

Rowan looked uncomfortable, and she was shifting in her seat.

"Ah, no. I think, well I think I can convince him. Can you just stay here for a minute please?"

And then she was out of the car and running towards Damian, heedless of the pouring rain.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She was very very cold, and very very wet, and very very tired of running because wow Damian was farther away then she thought. Rowan knew Damian could hear her running since every step she took made the puddles on the ground splash and the sound echoed across the empty streets. However, she also knew that Damian was probably expecting Tim, Dick, or even Stephanie.

Though she wanted to sneak up on him more than anything, she knew better, so she made sure he knew it was her before she reached him.

"Damian!"

He didn't jump, but he did tense and stop. He turned around just as she reached him. She stopped in front of him, doubled over and gasping for breath. The rain was coming down harder than ever, and she was absolutely freezing. On top of that, she just knew her hair wouldn't dry for hours. And It was going to be a monster to comb out.

"You're so out of shape it's disgusting." he said, face void of emotion.

She ignored his comment and looked up at him, wiping the rain from her glasses. It didn't help much since the rain was coming down so fast.

"They called me you know, they're worried about you." She said, trying to reason with him.

"Tt. I should have known you were in the car. There's no other way they would have found me. Go home Rowan." And with that, he turned back around and began walking.

Pulling a face, Rowan followed after him. She grasped his arm, hardly taking note of the wet squish of his jacket, and used him as leverage to pull herself up on the short stone wall beside him. She kept her hand on his shoulder, knowing he wouldn't protest. After realizing how short of a walk it was to the park, they'd made it a habit of going every time he'd come and there'd been acceptable daylight left. She'd often walk on the wall while he walked beside her. Though Damian was angry, tonight was no different. Besides, she couldn't see and she didn't want to fall and crack her skull open.

Rowan simply walked for a few minutes, hoping that his anger at her would wash away with the rain. And she knew he was angry. Eventually, Rowan decided that it would be best to speak. And with Damian, she would need to be direct.

"Damian, why won't you go home?"

She couldn't really see his face because her glasses were pretty much useless by now, but she just knew he was scowling.

"You wouldn't understand."

Rowan thought about his words. Then she thought about her family: Mama, and her Father, and her Gran, and her sisters, and Grandmother.

"Try me." She said softly.

"Why, so you can go back and report to my _brothers._"

The way he said the word 'brother' made her realize something.

"You know I don't always get along with my sisters either."

Damian gave her a sideways glance.

"You have sisters?"

Rowan nodded.

"Half-sisters. They're twins, from my Father."

"You call him Father?"

"Well what else would I call him?"

Damian stopped, and looked at her. Really _looked._ And Rowan stared back, wondering what exactly he was looking for. It seemed, however, that he found it, because suddenly he opened up.

"It's not fair." He said, all of a sudden looking angry again. And maybe, if she wasn't imagining it, he looked a little hurt.

"What's not fair?"

"My Father, he doesn't need _them._ He has me. Yet he has them all coming over for Thanksgiving. It's ridiculous."

Rowan was confused for a second, but then she realized.

"Are you… Are you talking about your brothers?"

Suddenly he twisted from under her grip, and she almost slipped.

"They are _not_ my brothers! They're strays that my Father picked up off the street! Now that he has me, his _actual _son, he doesn't need them!"

Rowan stood, stupefied at Damian's outburst. Rowan knew that Damian had lived with his Mother until he was about 8, while the rest of Bruce's children had been with him for longer. She also knew he didn't get along with them, but this…

"Are you _jealous_?" she couldn't really say the stupid word, but it got her point across. Besides, as angry as he was, she figured Damian wouldn't pick on her for not being able to pronounce the word _right at that second._ She knew she was going to get an earful later though.

He looked shocked, angry, and confused all at the same time.

"I am_ not_ jealous."

Rowan just shook her head, and moved on.

"Damian they're your family. You know your Dad loves you, but just because he loves you, doesn't mean he can't love them too."

"But-"

"But _nothing._ Damian if everyone was only allowed to care about one person, how do you think the world would be? My Gran cares about my Mama, does that mean that she's not allowed to love me too? And if it's the fact that they're adopted that you're worried about, then I hope you realize that my Gran adopted my Mama. There's nothing wrong with it Damian…" While Rowan's rant had started off strong, she trailed off until a near whisper at the end.

Damian had calmed significantly, but she just knew that he was still going to be a butt about the whole thing.

"But we don't get along. And he invited _everyone._ Even Jason."

Rowan didn't know who Jason was, but he wasn't important right now.

"Damian, I'm pretty sure that _you're _the one who doesn't get along with everyone. And I'm also pretty sure they know that. Look, can you please… Can you please just try? I mean if you really can't handle it, you can… Um…." What could he do? Oh!

"You can come to my house? Just, please?" Rowan suddenly felt even smaller than she was, and she twisted up her hands in her hoodie. The action wrung cold water from the cloth, and it made her wince.

Damian looked at her skeptically.

"If I do this, and I get fed up with their foolery, I can come to your house anytime?"

Rowan continued to twist her jacket, and nodded enthusiastically.

"Tt. Fine.

And with that, he turned around and began the walk back to the car. Rowan got off the wall and ran behind him. Man, she sure was doing a lot of running tonight.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After Thanksgiving, Rowan is in complete bliss. She'd managed to eat six slices of ham, three helpings of mac and cheese, and two slices of pecan pie. She's full, in a warm bed, and her flashlight has full batteries so that she can read waaay past her bedtime. It's an absolutely perfect night.

That is until she's half asleep over a book and she starts hearing noises from her window at 3 AM. She immediately turns off her flashlight and scoots herself against her wall. She wants to scream, but she's afraid that if she does she might get hurt, so she keeps quiet and stays as still as possible. She can feel her heart beating double time, and she curls herself into a ball. And when _Robin_ climbs through her window? Well, she nearly has a heart attack at 9 years old.

It's dark in her room, but she can see vague movements, so she watches as he drops his sword, takes off his cape, and goes through her dresser and pulls out a t shirt. She continues to do so as he takes off the top part of his armor and replaces it with said shirt. She absentmindedly thinks that his build looks familiar once his only slightly bulky armor is gone, but she continues to stay silent. When he takes off his mask and turns towards her though? That's when she falls to her side in pure shock and lets out a sound that sounds loosely like the words 'what' and 'eh' combined.

"You sound like a dying whale." Damian states as he folds his discarded uniform neatly.

"Whaat?" is all she manages to get out because her mind is _absolutely blown._ And so many things make _sense _now.

"You said I could come over any time." He says casually, as if he isn't _the _frickin' boy wonder.

And then he scoots her aside, picks up her discarded flashlight and book, and reads on her bed like he didn't just make her doubt the reality of her entire 9 year old life.

But.

'_At least now the fact that he's an 11 year old with abs makes sense.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Well it looks like you guys are getting a double update. Wowza. I don't think I've ever been this motivated or consistent with a story in my life. Three chapters in 2 days, I can't believe it. Although to be fair, this one was pre written. Anyway, feel free to review on both chapters (hint hint)**

**As always my lovelies, please read, enjoy, and review. **

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The most unfortunate side effect to having a friend who is both female and two years younger, as Damian learns during his twelfth year, is the fact that because of their respective biological differences, they both started puberty at about the same time.

Now, despite this, their dynamic only shifted rather than completely change. It was subtle, no words were exchanged. But Damian noticed.

Rowan's room, which had always been dominated by t shirts, sharpies, and sneakers, now sported new additions of things like deodorant and bras. Miranda now insisted that they keep the door open whenever he was over. (He'd made no protest to this, but he also continued to visit some nights after patrol. While Rowan's Mother was fairly easy going, he would never tell her this.) Rowan's book/movie shelf evolved and now included romance titles. And lastly, Rowan no longer put her head, hands, arms, or any part of her torso near his lap.(For obvious reasons.)

Of course, none of this dissuaded them from their late nights, or movie marathons. It did, however, mean that Damian had begun to show a slight interest in the opposite sex. Or at least, his body had.

So it was that nearly 5 months after his twelfth birthday, Damian found himself with a girlfriend. This, besides the fact that Tim had started avoiding him like the plague about a month earlier, was just about the only thing that made his age less awkward. She was aesthetically pleasing, and she wasn't _completely_ inept at fighting, but he was still far superior to Lian. He was rather disappointed that once they'd started dating, she'd changed, however. She became clingy, and he was loathe to say, slightly possessive. He had to give her credit, though, she was lucky to be dating him. He'd be possessive if he was in her position as well.

And Rowan found this absolutely hilarious.

"It's not funny!" he'd snapped at her one day.

"_Damian_. You tried to kiss Lian and she _bit you._ How is that not funny?" she'd said, looking at him over the rim of her glasses.

"You wouldn't be laughing if it'd been you she'd bit."

"Why in the world would I be kissing Lian in the first place?"

Damian chose to ignore the wave of anger that image brought.

"Who said anything about kissing her?"

"Well I thought-"

"Don't _assume_ anything. You're far too naïve for that."

She'd looked at him incredulously, and Damian had thought that the expression was misplaced on her 10 year old face.

"Are you forgetting that you're only 2 years older than me?"

"Tt, I might as well be 10 years older for all the difference there is between you and me."

"Pft, so you're 22 and hanging out with a 10 year old? Someone's a pedo." She'd said, giggling at him.

He'd glared at her.

"I am _not _a pedophile."

She'd simply smiled and wrinkled her little nose at him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The first time Rowan really thinks about puberty is when her Mama takes her out bra shopping one April and instead of a training bra she comes home with a large A cup and a very weary Mama.

"I foresee large boobies and back problems in your future baby." She'd said jokingly once she realized that Rowan was already in the cup sizes. Rowan had just laughed, but she'd been slightly worried when her Mama hadn't said much of anything else for the rest of the day.

And it turned out she was right to worry because the moment she got home, her Mama made her call Damian and tell him he couldn't come over that day, and then sat her down with a serious look.

"Have you guys gone over family life at school yet?"

And that was the moment that Rowan officially knew the rest of her day was going to be horrible.

"Um, yes."

Her Mama had nodded and crossed her legs.

"And what did you guys talk about?"

It was there that Rowan had to pause and think. Yes they had talked about….things… in class. But, there was also the little fact that Rowan may or may not have gotten into her Mama's book shelf at some point and found a few of her books that weren't exactly from the kids section. Being the miniature bookworm that she was, she proceeded to read said books. And then she went to the library and got more. Now, it was fair to say, she knew just a _bit_ more than was probably appropriate for her age.

"Um… We learned about periods, and um the difference between girl and boy parts, and body changes, and… stuff." Yah, that sounded about right.

Her Mama sat there, amused by Rowan's skittishness for a second before speaking.

"So you know that it's normal that you got your period right?"

At this, Rowan nodded.

"You know to just keep doing what you've been doing and tell me if anything changes, right?"

Try not to be grossed out?

"I have to just keep using… Pads right?" because yeah, tampons sounded uncomfortable.

"Yup, if that's what you want."

Rowan nodded, and tried not to fidget too much under her Mama's gaze.

"Okay, and we already went bra shopping. We got you some deodorant. And baby, and baby you know where your pads are, right?"

Rowan nodded once again, blushing.

"I got some different sized ones for you, just in case. If it happens, they're the unopened pack. If they're not good enough, we can get you some different ones. Just tell me when it happens okay? Even if it's in the middle of the night. For the first few months your period's going to be weird."

Again, Rowan nodded. She let out a breath, thinking it was over. She went to get up, but then her Mama stopped her.

"Woah, we're not quite done, Ro. "

Curious and apprehensive about what her Mama could want now, she sat back down, folding her legs under her on the couch.

"I know Damian and Tim are your best friends,"

Rowan's face screwed up in horror, and she couldn't help her mental anguish.

'_Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.'_

"But things are probably gonna be a little different now, okay?"

Wanting to get away from this horrible conversation, Rowan got up, ready to bolt.

"Rowan, sit down _please_. I know this is awkward, but you've got to listen for now. I'll _tell_ you when you can leave."

Rowan let out a sound of distress, and fell back on the couch. She pulled out her ponytail and let her hair fall in her face so that she could have some small shield from everything.

"Look, Damian's getting older too. And Tim's already a few years older, and he's about to get his Soul Marks soon too, right?"

"Yeaaaah, I know." She mumbled, desperately wanting to slam her face into the wall.

"And they're cute kids, right?"

Rowan wrinkled her brow at this.

"I guess…" Damian was, in an angry puppy dog kind of way. Tim was more like a happy kitten.

"Do you, by any chance, have a crush on one of them?"

Rowan's had snapped up at that, and her eyes went wide.

"_What?_"

"Well-"

"_NO. _Mama, they're my best friends!"

Her Mama was smiling again, but Rowan didn't see how any of this could _possibly _be funny.

"Okay, okay. Yeesh, I was just checking. But, hear me out, Tim's 13, and Damian is getting older to. I just want you to tell me if they do _anything_ to make you uncomfortable-"

At this, Rowan got angry. She jumped up and nearly shouted.

"_They're not like that_."

Her Mama's face showed surprise, and she leaned back at the conviction in Rowan's voice. Startled by her own outburst, Rowan sat back down, face red.

"They're not… They're my friends okay? We watch movies, and eat food, and we talk and we have fun. Tim and Damian wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Her voice was soft, and she'd neglected to mention all the bruises she had from Damian picking her up, but that was different. That was playing, and Damian was a lot stronger than he looked. It was a side effect of having a playmate that was bigger, and stronger than you. Also she didn't mention how sometimes Tim ended up emailing her on the IPod she got for her birthday(Because she has a small addiction to music.) at random hours when she's supposed to be asleep. It's not his fault that he goes places with time differences.

Finally, her Mama nodded, apparently letting the entire thing go.

"Okay, but you know I'm always here. There's just one more thing we need to talk about, okay?"

Deciding that whatever it was couldn't get any worse, she dipped her head in acceptance.

"You learned about Soul Marks too, right?"

"Yeah."

Rowan knew a little bit, and she also knew her Mama didn't really talk about them much, unlike other people.

"I know a lot of people make a big deal about them and everything, but I want you to know that they're not everything." Rowan's Mama had to stop there. She took a deep breath, and Rowan got the distinct feeling that she was fighting back tears.

"Soul Marks are complicated things, Ro. Just because you have one , it doesn't mean there's always going to be a happy ending okay? So I don't want you to think that on your 14th birthday, you have to devote everything to your mate. Can you promise me that?"

Rowan thought about it for a second. She thought about her Gran, and all the stories she told about her Grandpa. They'd met when they'd both were 24, and were together nearly 44 years before his heart gave out. Rowan was only 2 when he passed, and she barely remembered him. But she did remember how in love her Gran in Grandpa were. Especially since to this day, her Gran still celebrates their anniversary.

And then she thought about her Mama, who she knew had a Soul Mark. Yet Miranda, in all of her liveliness, never spoke of it at all.

"Yeah."

Her Mama smiled, but it was somehow sad.

"Okay little one, you're free. Fly my pretty." She said, shooing her away.

Rowan got up, and made to walk to her room. Before she left, however, she had to know one thing.

"Mama? My Dad, was he…"

The look in her Mama's eyes hurt, because Rowan wasn't used to seeing the strong woman looking so broken.

"Yes. Yes, he was."

And with that, Rowan returned to her room. A lot of things made sense now. And she had a lot to think about.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At 2:12 am, when her window slides up and a boy decked out in black , red, green, and yellow slips through her window, Rowan isn't the least bit startled. Nor is she alarmed when the side of her bed she is not on dips and the flashlight she had been using to read is pulled from her hands.

Damian speaks before she even has time to register the fact that her flashlight is now being spun in complicated patterns between ambidextrous hands. Rowan, however, is momentarily entranced by the miniature lightshow, and she almost doesn't hear him.

"What happened today?"

She'd been expecting the question, because in the time they'd known each other, neither one of them had ever canceled a visit. Despite this, however, Rowan was not entirely willing to tell him what her mother had wanted to talk about. This, though, did not mean that she was going to lie to him.

"My Mama just wanted to talk to me about stuff."

She'd hardly expected her answer to be good enough for Damian, and she was right.

"What kind of 'stuff'?"

Rowan frowned, and hoped that Damian couldn't see her expression. There was _no way _that she was going to tell him everything. But… She _could_ just say they talked about Soul Marks. Which was absolutely true.

"Mama just wanted to talk to me about Soul Marks." Rowan said, desperately hopping Damian would let her leave it at that.

Rowan was still as she watched the emotions flit over Damian's face: indifference, surprise, and finally curiousness.

"What was there to talk about? Aren't they just marks that supposedly tell you who your soul mate is?"

Rowan smiled at the infliction he put on the word 'supposedly'. They hadn't ever really talked about it, but now that she thought about it, she could tell that Damian wasn't exactly against the idea of someone who would truly love him.

Damian may have tried to hide it, but Rowan could tell just how affection starved he was. It was… Odd, in a way. Damian was always looking for approval, albeit he only cared about it from his father or Richard. Despite this, Damian was so stuck in his ways that it often baffled her. He was _very _opinionated, often times rude, and she would be lying through her teeth if she said he wasn't volatile. She knew this, and yet she also knew that in his own way, he tried.

Even as young as she was, Rowan could see that as the fifth to take on the mantle of Robin, Damian had a lot to live up too. He was constantly trying to surpass his predecessors, while at the same time his personality made it all the harder.

She had to give it to his family though, as odd as they were, they were exactly what he needed. Bruce gave him something to strive for, and he _was_ Damian's father. As guarded as the man was, he loved Damian in his own way. Dick, although he really was a bit overenthusiastic, gave Damian as much love and affection as he possibly could. Jason, as much as it hurt her to say it, was a sort of reminder to Damian as to what could happen to him if he wasn't careful.

And lastly, Tim kept Damian occupied. The description probably didn't accurately describe their relationship, but in a way, it was true. They were constantly at each other's necks, each constantly trying to one up the other. Sometimes, it worried her, but she supposed as long as nobody got hurt they were okay. Well, she shouldn't say that, because it was inevitable that one of them would get hurt. Damian kind of had a thing for violence. As long as no one died they were fine.

All in all, she could see why the idea of someone caring for him despite his flaws appealed to him so greatly. Though he never told her in words, Rowan knew that before he lived with his father, he wasn't exactly shown much compassion, and now that he had it, she knew that he would do anything to keep it.

So instead of telling him about her parents, she simply shrugged and laid back down. Whatever he thought about Soul Marks was his business. She wouldn't pollute his opinion with hers.

However, as she lay on her side, eyes trained steadily on her bedroom wall, she was curious.

"Damian? What do you think you're soul mate will be like?" Damian was two years older than her, and he'd get his mark first.

Comfortable in her position, Rowan stayed still as Damian adjusted behind her until he'd scooted farther onto her bed, his back against the wall and Rowan's legs settled in his lap. Her pajama bottoms had risen up her calves, and the sturdy material of his pants was cool against her skin.

"He or she will be strong of course, and smart. We'll be equal in every way."

His voice was familiar, and his presence only added to her comfort. Rowan found herself drifting, and eventually her eyes began to droop closed. She had trouble sleeping most of the time, but whenever Damian came for a visit, she felt… Safe. If Tim were here, she'd probably never even feel the need to wake up.

Just as the comforting blankness of sleep stole her under, she managed to just barely hear Damian speaking.

"What do you think yours will be like?"

She felt herself let out an unintelligible murmur, but her thoughts were clear as day inside her mind.

'_They'll make me happy, like you and Tim.'_


	6. Chapter 6

**IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T HAVE MY LAPTOP FOR A WHILE THIS HAS ONLY BEEN 54% PROOFREAD HERE IS MORE FLUFF PLEASE DON'T HATE ME I SHOULD BE WRITING FOR MY OTHER STORIES ITS SO HARD IM SORRY IF IT SUCKS REALLY I AM IM SORRY ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW IT GIVES ME LIFE**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Rowan doesn't quite know what's going on with Tim and Damian, but she knows there is something there. And it's not their normal destructive bullshit either.

Pretty soon after his 14th birthday, Tim had gone to live with the Titans. She's happy for him, but of course that didn't stop her from missing him. They still emailed every day, but it was different. As odd as it was, she missed watching her best bros bicker every time they visited her. (Which had been a lot.) Tim and Damian's relationship entertained her to no end, especially since they graduated from outright hatred to a sort of comfortable, (Yet no less intense.) rivalry.

Her only consolation was the fact that she still had Damian. The surly boy visited her multiple times a week, unless his role as Robin took up more time than usual. While she enjoyed his visits, she did miss Tim. In his own way, Damian did as well.

Sure, he made comments about how much better things were now that 'Drake' was out of the house, but she could see straight through that. Damian missed having someone to take out all of his pent up aggression on, and he was confused as to why Tim was avoiding him.

And Tim _was_ avoiding him. Like the freaking plague. Tim never asked about Damian in their emails, and when they talked on the phone, the normally fluent boy practically mangled his words in an attempt to steer the conversation away from anything Damian related.

The one time Tim had come home for the weekend, he'd spent all his time in places he knew Damian wouldn't be. Namely, far away from her. She'd been extremely disappointed when she'd found out, and hadn't been placated by Tim's half assed apology.

After thinking about his odd behavior, Rowan had come to a vague conclusion as to what might be happening, but she had to be sure before she said anything. It was for that very reason that she'd made Tim promise to come visit her.

He hadn't specified _when_ this visit would be, though. So the months flew by, and Rowan began to miss her friend more and more. As school began, and students began settling into monotonous schedules, ghouls and witches began to pop up in the media, and Rowan knew what she was going to do.

After school one day, Rowan came home, smile on her face and settled on her couch. It was a little late for her to do this, with only a week left in the month, but she'd get it done. She took out her phone, and began the first step of her plan: Spamming him with text messages.

'Tim.'

She waited a few minutes. But there was no reply. She hardly expected one, but if she wanted him to call her back in a timely manner, she was going to have to do this.

'Tim. Call me.'

Five minutes.

'Dude I know ur distracted with ur hot boyfriend, but spare a few minutes 4 me will ya.'

Tim would know who she was referring to, and he would be mortified that she knew about his crush. She grinned. Ten minutes.

'Tiiiiiim.'

Twenty minutes passed by, and she filled the time with homework.

'Timothy Jackson Drake.'

40 minutes. She was long done with her homework, and on to a new book she'd been meaning to read for a while. It was the first in a series by the author J.R Ward. So far, it had been pretty good.

'Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne'

About an hour had gone by. Her Mama had come home a few minutes ago, and she'd had to hide her book before she saw it. The cover wasn't exactly innocent looking, and the author was a popular one.

'I miss your face.'

It was nearly two hours before she got a reply, and the sun had nearly set. She'd already brushed her teeth and hopped in bed, door closed and book in her hands.

'Only my face?'

Rowan smiled, and dialed his number.

"Yup. Your face when that picture of Superboy shirtless showed up on my dash was beautiful."

Tim groaned and Rowan snickered at his pain.

"I was just surprised. He'd probably kill the person who took that if he knew it was online."

Rowan rolled her eyes. She'd been on her new Tumblr last year when a picture some paparazzi had taken of one of Tim's team mates at the beach had popped up. The guy hadn't been wearing a shirt, and Rowan had found herself blushing at the display of skin. Tim and Damian had been in the room at the time, and both boys had turned her computer around to see what had her face hot.

Damian had simply scoffed, but Tim's gaze had lingered for just a little too long, and Rowan hadn't missed the way he'd flushed.

"Mhm. Anyway, Halloween's almost here."

Rowan almost drooled at the thought of all the candy.

"I know. You're trying not to drool right now aren't you?" Tim laughed.

Rowan pulled a face and tried not to be embarrassed by his accuracy.

"Shuddup," she mumbled.

"You know it's true."

Rowan fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him, since he wouldn't be there to see it.

"Shhh. You're coming with me."

"Coming with you where?" He asked, amusement in his voice.

"Trick or treating. You're coming with me."

As she'd expected, he immediately tried to worm his way out of it.

"Rowan I'm so busy here I-"

"You are coming with me. You promised to come and see me, and we both know you haven't taken a day off in months."

"Rowan.."

Rowan felt her stomach drop. He didn't sound as convinced as she'd hoped he would be.

"Pleeeaassee." She tried in one last attempt.

After a few seconds, he sighed.

"I don't have a costume..."

Rowan refrained from commenting on the fact that he wore a skin tight suite and mask every night, and instead focused on getting him to visit her.

"Don't worry about it. I've got you covered."

"Ro, are you sure?"

"Yup, just make sure you're here on October 31st, I've got the rest."

Rowan chewed her bottom lip silently as she waited for Tim to answer.

"Fine, just know I can't stay long."

Rowan threw her fist up in celebration, and said goodbye. She scrambled out of her bed, and went to find her Gran. They had some serious costume planning ahead of them.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Tim had no idea what to expect when he came back to Gotham on Halloween, but what Rowan gave him wasn't it.

He'd resigned himself to having to spend time with Damian, because when it came to Rowan that was just the way things worked. The costumes, however, had thrown him for a loop.

He'd arrived at Rose's sweet treats well before sunset, and gave his customary greetings to Rowan's family before making his way to the girl's room. Once there, he couldn't help the smile on his face at the sight before him.

Her hair was down; the frizzy curls red with some type of temporary spray or chalk. It seemed Rowan hadn't gone with traditional costumes, because she was wearing black boots, white pants, a red and white apron, a red shirt, and a red hooded cape. It was obvious who she was supposed to be, though, because a wicker picnic basket was resting beside her.

To his chagrin, Damian was already there. The boy was seated in front of Rowan. While she sat on her bed, Damian, decked out in black jeans, boots, and a black T-shirt, sat on the floor between her legs so that it was easier for her to... Secure faux animal ears in his hair?

"Are you two supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf?" He asked incredulously.

Rowan jumped, and Damian yelled as the action caused her to yank at his hair.

"Er, yeah. Sorry Damian..." She mumbled as she hurriedly finished her ministrations, and then stood up. Damian rolled his eyes and stood beside her. Even at 12, Damian was already really tall. He was only 6 inches shorter than Tim's 5'10 lanky frame. This made him about 7 inches taller than Rowan, who had always looked miniature beside the two of them.

"Drake." The green eyed boy greeted coolly.

"Damian." Tim replied back, just as frigid. The less he associated with Damian, the better.

"Hi Tim." Rowan finally greeted.

He relaxed slightly, and smiled at her.

"Hey, how have you been?"

Rowan gave him a look. They'd been emailing or talking frequently since he left, so it was kind of a stupid question more out of courtesy than anything else.

"Okay, scratch that, what am I wearing tonight?"

All of a sudden, Rowan's eyes lit up. She darted over to her desk, and rummaged through one of the drawers. The sound of plastic bags crinkling filled the silence in the room.

He was busy studying her handprint tree when she asked him something. They'd each added a new handprint on their respective birthdays, dates written in sharpie underneath. Rowan had taken it upon herself to put her's inside of theirs each time. Her hand print was still smaller than theirs.

"Are you still the same shirt size?"

Tim hummed in agreement before backtracking.

"Actually it depends on the shirt, my shoulders are a little bit wider." He tried not to feel awkward about the statement as Rowan continued to look through her drawers. In the past year he'd had a growth spurt, and he was still trying not to feel awkward in his own body. He was tall, and his limbs were longer than he was used to. That resulted in a lot of fumbling that had him putting in multiple hours of extra training to balance it out.

After another moment, Rowan walked up to him, red plaid shirt and fake axe in her hands.

He took them from her with a grin.

"Huntsman?"

She nodded as a wide smile split across her face. Behind them, Damian continued to be an asshole.

"Tt. Why does he get to be the Huntsman? His hair is longer anyway, he'd look better in these ridiculous ears. Shaggy wolf and all that."

Actually Damian looked kind of adorable, but Tim wouldn't be the one to tell him that. He firmly believed in life preservation. It seemed Rowan, however, had no such convictions.

She walked right up to him, stood on the very tips of her toes, and ran one tiny hand over the silky looking ears. Tim didn't comment on the fact that Damian leaned slightly into her touch so that she didn't have to strain as much.

"You look cute. Besides, Gran made these to match your hair."

Damian scowled and straightened out of her reach.

"We have the same color hair."

Rowan pulled back her hand and flipped the red hood over her mass of hair.

"Tim's is darker."

"Tt. We both have black hair you twit."

She pinched him and immediately went back to her desk to pull something else out. As she did so, she repeated her previous statement, head shaking in disagreement as she did so.

"Tim's is darker."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Rowan stood in front of her Mama and shuffled awkwardly.

"So who exactly is supposed to be watching you three?" she asked, one sculpted eyebrow raised.

Rowan had been so busy trying to get Tim to come and putting together their costumes that she'd forgotten all about chaperones. In all honesty, she'd gotten so used to being around Tim and Damian, two practically fearless people, that she'd almost stopped being scared of Gotham when she was with them. But only almost. She still remembered the time she and her Mama made the mistake of trying to walk home after dark. Never again.

Now, however, she realized her mistake. Her Mama didn't know that Damian and Tim could more than take care of any trouble they ran into, and there was no way she'd let them go out alone. Now slightly panicked, she shot a look towards Damian.

Even sporting cute wolf ears, he looked slightly sour. She had the vague feeling that he was irritated with the delay. Not that she was surprised. Something always irritated him.

Still at a loss, she opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to find words. When none came, she looked at Tim. He opened his mouth to speak, but Damian beat him to the punch.

"We're supposed to walk to the end of the block, and then Dick is going to pick us up."

Rowan watched in horror as her Mama accepted the blatant lie.

"Well okay then. Just remember, no sketchy neighborhoods. Stay with the boys, and be back by midnight. If you come home any later than that I'm going to take a switch to your backside."

Rowan would have laughed at her Mama's faux threat if it wasn't for the fact that she was busy staring at Damian in wonder.

She continued to stare as Damian practically dragged her out the door onto the sidewalk.

"Did you really just lie to Rowan's Mom?" Tim asked once her Mama left, just as amazed as she was.

"Well someone had to." Damian said, nonchalantly walking off. Shaking his head, Tim put his fake axe over his shoulder and followed close behind. He glanced back, and Rowan couldn't keep the slightly scared look off of her face.

"Come on Ro, we won't let anything happen to you."

The sentiment was nice, but she was more afraid of what would happen if her Mama ever found out about this.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Damian was getting extremely tired of Rowan's pointed looks by the time 11 pm rolled around. He'd expected to see ridiculous costumes tonight, but the sheer amount of Robins was astounding.

So far he'd seen three different versions: understated, overstated, and downright slutty. All three versions had Rowan in varying degrees of laughter. The third in particular had her nearly falling to the ground in mirth.

The only upside to the night was the massive amount of candy they'd amassed. They'd left around seven pm, just as the sun set, and in the 4 hours they'd been practically all over Gotham. Rowan had been ecstatic over the prospect of getting sweets, and as a result she'd been practically running the entire time. Well, she ran for about 10 minutes before running out of breathe and having Tim carry her. The older boy obliged willingly of course. It was disgusting.

He'd have to examine some of the sketchier looking candy in the lab later, of course, but the acceptable pieces would be rather enjoyable.

Sneering at yet another person who'd felt inclined to comment on their matching costumes, Damian vaguely thought that he'd have to call Dick soon. For his lie to work, they'd have to enforce it by having him take them home.

As they left the overly decorated house behind them, Damian stopped to pull out his phone without bothering to inform his companions. They'd agreed to walk towards the park after the last house since they were already so close. Rowan, still on Tim's back, said something close to his ear as they walked that had Tim chuckling. As a result, they walked a few more steps before Tim noticed his absence and turned around. Rowan dropped down and ran back towards him once she realized he was no longer beside them.

"What's wrong?" She asked peering down, one small finger on his phone to tilt the screen towards her. She was a nosy little thing, but he couldn't complain considering how often he stole her books. Though he didn't know why he continued to do so, since her reading material was unnecessarily smutty for someone of her age. Or any age really.

"Nothing. I'm simply calling Dick to come pick us up. I have no desire to anger your Mother anytime soon, and she explicitly requested that you be home before midnight."

Rowan hummed in agreement before allowing him to dial the number and lift the phone to his ear.

Dick picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Come pick us up at the park." He stated simply.

Dick sighed on the other end.

"What? No 'Hello?'. No 'How is your Halloween?'. Not even an update on how yours went?"

Damian grimaced as a rather bodacious young lady walked by in a barely there interpretation of the Robin costume. His grimace turned into a glare as Rowan snickered beside him.

"Tt. Just come get us."

Dick sighed dramatically once again.

"No, you know what? I don't think I will quite yet. First I want to know if you had fun?"

Damian was about to answer when Rowan began speaking softly, face already dusted pink.

"What'd you think of that costume Damian?'"

"It was ghastly." He said, hand over the speaker on his phone so as not to alert Dick of the situation.

Rowan, despite the fact that she could often be agreeable company, had her moments of idiocy. Albeit she often blushed heavily while they happened.

"I dunno, I think that would be a good upgrade for your costume."

"No."

"But come on, you've got awesome thigh-"

He couldn't help himself, if he let this continue it would only escalate and he'd find himself in a situation he wanted no part of.

He reached out to cover her mouth, but she dodged so he caught her hood instead. He used it to pull he towards him.

"Be quiet." He hissed at her, hopping she'd get the point.

She simply grinned up at him, face a light red before she was lifted up and out of his grasp.

"Geeze, Damian, I don't know why you're so rough with her."

He looked up to see Rowan laughing, Tim holding her carefully over his shoulder.

"Hello? Damian?" Dick asked over the phone.

Damian ignored him in order to deal with Tim. The other boy had been avoiding him as of late, and Damian felt that he deserved to be punished for such juvenile actions. Whatever issue Tim had with him needed to be faced head on, one should never run away from a battle.

So, with as much force as he could use without breaking any of her bones, Damian snatched Rowan back. She let out a small cry and squirmed out of his grasp.

"What was that?" Dick asked at the same time Tim shouted "Damian!"

He went to pick Rowan back up, phone now switched to blue tooth, at the same time that Tim tried to take her out of his grasp.

"Hey!" she said, running away from both of them. Out of pure habit, both Damian and Tim took off after her. She managed to make it to the park, and all the way to the bridge over the pond before Damian caught her.

Dick continued to ask what was going on as Tim grabbed at Rowan, and Damian ended up with his back against the bridge railing. Thought gears turning, Damian made a split decision and leaned over the railing with Rowan in his arms. All of a sudden she stopped struggling and clung to him.

"Wait, no I didn't do anything." She whispered hurriedly.

"Damian! Don't you dare drop her!" Tim shouted, trying to stick his hands between Damian's body and rowan.

"Drop who? What the hell is going on!" Dick asked.

"Tt. I'm not going to drop her-" he was cut off as Tim finally broke his grip and a high pitched scream ripped through the air. Damian watched as she managed to latch onto Tim, and in an attempt to stop her fall, Tim actually went over with her.

There was a loud splash, and Damian was silent as he watched Rowan flail below him as Tim tried to calm her down. After a few minutes of this, Damian finally answered Dick's frantic questions.

"Just pick us up." Then he let the line go dead.


	7. Author's Note IMPORTANT

Okay, this isn't an actual update, although for all those who've not seen it, I did actually just recently post the previous chapter, so that's new. However I noticed in the comments that people were referring to this story as Damian/Oc, which is technically true, but over all this IS an m/m/f story, which means the end game will be Damian/Tim/Rowan. I just wanted to clarify that with people, and also know if that's going to be a problem? I will be adding more Damian/Tim scenes soon, and I hope I won't lose fans now that Ive clarified that... Anyhow, please tell me how you guys feel, and know I'm 90% done with the next chapter, which is admittedly more fluff, and will be posting soon. I hope you guys stick with me, and know how much I adore you all. 3


	8. Author's Note 2

I've been getting a lot of reviews asking me to update, and as much as I'd like to, I'm afraid that at the moment I'm short on time. I actually go to school, and I'm in a special program that's not going to allow me any slacking. On top of my education, I'm getting a new bedroom set soon, which means I'm going to have to completely tear down my room and put everything back, which will take at least two days. _On top of that_, I'm helping my Nana rearrange her garage and house, which I predict will take _an unnecessary _amount of time. Oh, and last but not least, because of my program, I have independent study PE, which means I have to worry about trying to exorcise three days a week. Also, to be completely honest, I lost inspiration on all but one of my stories. (The one story that I was cranking out chapters for was Multifarious, which is a batman story. I have multiple chapters half written for the story, but as of now I'm going to _try_ and focus on some of my other stories.) I had no idea what direction any of them were going in, and it was tearing me up inside. Because of that, I took some time to think them over, and I'm glad to say that I now know what I want to do with them. I have solid plot ideas, and I'll start on them as soon as possible. Now in no way am I saying that I'm going on hiatus or anything, I just simply wanted you all to know that updates are going to be slowing down, and you guys have no idea how deeply I regret that. I know I promised updates soon, but it looks like that's just not in the cards. Though do know that I will find whatever time possible to write. I'll even start writing on my phone. I just hope that you'll all stick with me, and continue to give me feedback. I truly adore you all, and I hope to give you new chapters as soon as possible. I hope you all understand.


	9. Chapter 7

**THIS IS HALF PROOFREAD I SWORE I WOULDN'T UPDATE THIS STORY UNTIL I UPDATED MY OTHERF FICS I AM SUCH A FALURE PLEASE REVIEW**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It doesn't take long for Tim to realize that being around Rowan loosens Damian up like scissors to a rubber band. So whenever he comes home for a while, if he has to be around Damian at all, he makes sure Rowan's there. On those days, he and Damian get along just a little better. Granted, they still argue almost every available second, but their fights aren't nearly as vicious. (Tim has a theory that it's because Damian doesn't want to scare Rowan.)

So, when Christmas rolls around and it's time for Tim to head home, he doesn't protest when somehow he ends up on his way to Rowan's home with Damian and Titus on Christmas Eve.

When they walk through the door, Tim is greeted by the scent of sweets and a warm smile.

On his way towards the kitchen, Damian only stops to let the elderly woman behind the counter ruffle his hair and give him a kiss on the forehead before he continues on his path, unnecessarily large dog following him obediently. Though letting her touch him is a big allowance, he still doesn't have the grace to say a word to her.

"Damian don't you have _any_ manners?"

He doesn't even pause.

"I've got more than _you_, you uncultured swine."

Sighing, Tim pinches the bridge of his nose. Just because Damian is an ass, however, doesn't mean he has to be.

"Hi , how are you today?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Gran. And I'm just fine. How have you been?" she replied, amusement lighting her eyes.

Tim shook his head as he glanced towards the kitchen door.

"I'm pretty good. I assume Rowan's upstairs?"

"Why yes she is. Straight through the kitchen and the door will be right in front of you. Try not to make a mess this time, eh?"

Tim groaned. It was obvious the woman wasn't going to let him live down the whole paint fiasco.

"I remember, but I can't promise you anything. Damian is involved after all."

"All right, all right. But remember, Miranda's up there and she'll know if you guys break anything. Department store rules apply: You break it, you buy it." Her tone was serious, but her smile and the mirth in her eyes indicated otherwise.

"Okay, okay. I'll try my best."

Mrs. Chase gave him one last smile before she sent him on his way.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rowan is lying on her bed, face in her pillow and ear buds in her ears when a warm hand settles on her back and shakes her lightly. When she lifts up her head, she is greeted by warm blue eyes and she can't help but smile.

"Hi Tim."

"Hey Ro, merry Christmas." He says, smile showcasing his pearly whites.

Idly she wonders how he gets them so pristine.

Knowing Damian must be somewhere close by, she gets up to greet him, only to be slammed back into her bed by a rather large mass. Breath knocked out of her, she lies still as a warm tongue attempts to lick at her face.

"Titus! Down!" Damian shouts from her doorway, where he is leaning against the frame.

Laughing, Rowan once again sits up, this time standing so that she can give Titus a loving scratch on the back of the neck. Rowan had fallen in love with the dog that was nearly as big as she was, if not bigger, the very first time she'd seen him.

"Hey puppy," she says, knowing she can get away with calling Damian that since Titus is there.

"How rude," Damian drawls," you greet the animals before me?"

Rowan lets the corner of her mouth quirk up as she secretly celebrates the fact that Tim didn't snap at Damian for his sly insult. Also she's kind of glad that he still hasn't caught on to the fact that she calls him puppy. She hopes he never does.

"Hi Damian. Merry Christmas."

He nodded at her greeting, and then picked up the bat she'd rested beside her door.

"How did your first baseball game go?" he asks, twirling the bat in his hands.

"Did you do well?" Tim says, interest peaked as well.

Before he'd passed away when she was 5, Rowan's Grandpa, an avid baseball lover, had made sure she'd at least known how to hold a bat. Ever since, she'd had a fondness for the sport. After years of hitting balls in the park with some friends from school, they'd finally gotten her to join a team. Damian and Tim had never seen her play, but they at least knew she actually wanted to do it. In fact, she knew they were amused by it considering her usual feeling towards exorcise.

Even after joining the team, her feelings hadn't changed, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to put in the effort. After a couple years of being chased around by Damian and Tim, Rowan had managed to gain a naturally fast gait, though it hadn't helped her stamina. The coach didn't really mind, however, since Rowan could keep up her pace long enough to zip through the bases. That particular skill had come in handy during their first game. Rowan couldn't help but blush as she explained that her team had won.

"That's awesome!" Tim exclaimed, "I'll have to go and see you play one of these days," he finished, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"I would probably enjoy seeing you play one day as well." Damian put in.

Rowan blushed at the thought of them coming to see her, but smiled all the same.

"I'd like that," she mumbled.

Tim laughed, and Damian smiled, albeit lightly.

"So what'd you get us?" Damian asked, smile turned into a smirk.

"Oh!" Rowan cried, eyes lighting up.

Tim, always one to misinterpret her, sought to soothe her, thinking her cry was one of panic. It was rather ironic considering how good he usually was at reading people.

"You really didn't have to get us anything."

Rowan simply grinned, and pulled off her hoodie, turning in a full circle. Both boys raised their eyebrows at the sight, and Rowan laughed. She'd gotten the idea when Gran had helped her with their Halloween costumes, and hadn't let it go.

The shirt she was wearing was extremely large and black, with Damian's stylized Robin logo on the front, and Tim's Red Robin logo on the back. Rowan knew they liked it when their surprised expressions turned to pleased ones.

Now she was smiling so hard that her cheeks were starting to hurt, but she couldn't stop. Running to pull something from under her bed, she nearly tripped on Titus. She laughed as the large dog dove with her as she pulled Tim and Damian's actual presents from under her bed. She handed the correct gift bags to each boy with an 'Open them.', and watched, smirk now painting _her_ face as they pulled out the shirts she and Gran had made them.

"Merry Christmas!" she said as Tim held up his new Robin shirt, and Damian held up his new Red Robin shirt.

"You have got to be kidding me." Tim muttered, holding the large shirt up to his body.

"I got big one's so they'd fit for a long time." She stated, proud of her ironic gifts.

"I'm not wearing this. Ever." Damian stated, stony faced.

As Rowan dipped down to give Titus a hug and snuggle, she prepared to bargain with the two older boys.

"I'll make you both a big batch of any kind of cookies you want if you try them on."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sometimes he really despised the fact that Rowan made the best chocolate chip cookies he'd ever eaten.

He stood stalk still as Rowan stared at them, mostly dissolved red sucker in her mouth and pleased smile on her face.

"Happy now?" he asked, stony faced.

Her smile widened for a split second before immediately dropping.

"No." she stated simply.

He let one eyebrow raise in question, while Tim sighed.

"What else have you got up your sleeve?" the older boy asked warily. Expression still lax, she got up, dropped her finished sucker in the trash can, and walked out of her room without saying a word.

Too late, he realized that she'd taken her iPod with her, and had turned to snap a picture of them before running through the hall, face stained red and wild hair streaming.

"Dammit!" he swore before bolting after her. He didn't even have to turn to know Tim was on his heels.

"Damian, leave her alone!" he yelled, trying to grab onto the back of his shirt. Damian dodged and then jumped over the couch in an effort to get closer to her. It was bad enough that the girl had pictures of him covered in frosting (That she _swore_ she wouldn't show anyone.). There was no way he was letting her carry around a picture of him in this _ridiculous _shirt as well.

He'd almost caught her when she ripped open the door leading downstairs, accidently making it slam against the wall. She paused, and Damian froze in his tracks at the sound of her mother's voice.

"What the hell are you three doing?" she shouted from her bedroom.

There was a long pause of silence and Damian glanced back to see the slightly startled look on Tim's face. And then all hell broke loose as they simultaneously shouted 'nothing', and Rowan darted down the stairs.

They were already through the kitchen and in the dining area when Rowan did something he absolutely _did not expect._

She stopped dead in her tracks, making both Damian and Tim come to a grinding halt behind her as well. What resulted was a heap of tangled limbs and cursing from both him _and _Tim. And as he listened, he did hear a small 'shit' tumble from Rowan's mouth as she had the breath knocked out of her.

"What are you three doing?" Rose asked from somewhere above them. When he'd stopped, Tim had slammed into his back, knocking him into Rowan. Out of instinct, they'd both gone for her, the obviously weaker and smaller of the three of them, and pulled back. Tim had hit the wall, but Damian had gone to the ground, Rowan half on his chest.

The position, unfortunately, wasn't all that unfamiliar, as they'd formed a habit of crashing into thing _way to often for his tastes._ Except… Something was different.

Something was off.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tim looked down to see Rowan unnecessarily tense, and the gears in his head spun for a reason. She wasn't usually like this. While she was extremely uncomfortable with other people, she'd always been comfortable around them. On top of that, he'd noticed that Mrs. Chase, who was normally nothing if not gentle and caring, had sounded unusually cold.

He noticed that instead of laughing as she usually did when in a situation like this, Rowan was looking up, eyes wide and embarrassed blush staining her face. He followed her gaze and was met with brown, cold disapproving eyes. Vaguely familiar brown eyes. He started, and couldn't help himself from asking:

"Who're you?"

The man's answer was quick, and to the point.

"I'm her father, Mitchel. Who, pray tell, are you young men?"

Tim glanced quickly down at Rowan, who was still lying on Damian's chest. He noticed for the first time that he was half stooped over as well, his hand grasped tightly to her shirt in support, and _oops,_ he was pulling it up slightly. Immediately, he dropped it and instead moved to pick Damian up, who brought Rowan with him.

Damian, however, did not let her go and instead kept her sideways across his shoulders. An awkward choice that displayed his strength, but Tim could understand his reasoning. The man in front of them wasn't welcoming in the least, and he looked as if he'd step on anyone he deemed below him without a second glance.

While Damian stood tall and proud with Rowan laying across his shoulders, Tim straightened up as well. Before he knew it he was sizing up the man. Looked to be of Caucasian decent, slightly wavy brown hair, round brown eyes, mid thirties, about 5'10'', in good shape, yet not physically intimidating. Well, to him at least.

He glanced at Rowan. She was still tense, and absolutely avoiding the gaze of the man who claimed to be her father.

Damian replied first, making sure to add the weight of his last name.

"Damian Wayne." He stated, almond eyes cold.

Clearing his throat, Tim followed.

"Timothy Drake." He didn't particularly feel the need to extend pleasantries to a man who looked at his own daughter like she was a stranger.

And now that he thought about it, perhaps she was. In all the time he'd known her, Rowan had rarely, if ever mentioned her father.

The man's eyes sparked in recognition, and Tim noticed Damian tighten his grip on Rowan, then set her down. She blanched at being set down, and both boys noticed her discomfort. Tim reached over to settle his arm across Damian's shoulder, and the usually touch abhorrent boy let him as Rowan leaned into his arm for comfort. Without saying a word, Damian wrapped a friendly arm around Rowan's waist. She relaxed in their embrace, and finally turned shy eyes towards the man in front of them.

"Why haven't ever introduced me to your friends?" he asked.

Tim let the sentence flow through his natural translator: Why haven't you introduced me to these possible connections?

Tim knew his type. Business types, always trying to get on top. He knew this game, probably better than anyone else, even Damian.

Ms. Rose stood, lips pierced at the man's rude tone.

Rowan simply shrugged, and seemed to burrow farther into their embrace.

"What do you want?" Mrs. Chase asked, voice still cold as ice.

Mitchel didn't even glance at her.

"I wanted to take Rowan home for Christmas."

Rowan's breathing abruptly stopped. He didn't know what was going on there, but he'd find out.

Tim didn't even comment on the fact that Rowan was already home before words slipped from his mouth.

"She already promised to come to our house for Christmas."

She breathed again.

The man simply blinked, and didn't dare object.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

By the time the gift giving was over, they'd all settled into the living room around the fire place. Alfred was in the kitchen making them all hot chocolate. Bruce was in the recliner. Jason was sitting on the couch opposite to Dick. Damian and Tim were on the loveseat, and Rowan, odd as it was, had settled at their feet, entire body wrapped around her giant chocolate bar.

She didn't look entirely comfortable, and Dick was the first to speak up.

"You know there's plenty of room on the couch over here right?"

"Mhm." Rowan didn't move a muscle.

Tim looked down at her.

"Um, he's trying to say you that you don't have to lie on the floor. If it makes you feel better, I'm sure you could squeeze in between Damian and me."

"I know." She still didn't move.

This time is what Damian who spoke.

"Rowan, are you comfortable?"

"Not really. The carpet is leaving imprints on my face."

Damian scoffed at her and nudged her head with his foot.

"Then why are you down there?"

She wrinkled her nose and moved her head away.

"It's easier to be close to my chocolate this way."

There was an awkward silence, and then muffled laughing filled the air.

"Is she serious?" Jason asked.

"Looks like it." Bruce said, small smile on his face.

Tim just shook his head.

"Rowan you _do_ know that you're going to melt it with your body heat right?" Damian, always the pessimist, interjected.

"Shut up, leave me alone." She mumbled, a pained look crossing her face.

"You need to see a therapist."

Tim couldn't help himself, he raised his hand and slapped Damian upside the head. The irate boy turned and practically growled at him. Before he could attack like the wild animal he was, however, Rowan made her own interjection.

"I'll make you a deal; I'll see a therapist for my food obsession when you see one for your anger issues."

Bruce and Jason were chuckling, while Dick fell into a full blown fit of laughter. Tim wasn't exactly stony faced either.

Damian simply rolled his eyes.

Eventually, the laughter stopped.

"So you're not going to be getting up anytime soon?" Tim found himself asking.

"Nope." She replied, popping the 'p'.

"Well okay then." He wasn't happy that she was laying down there, but he couldn't exactly yank her up. That'd be rude.

A few minutes later, after Dick had decided to put a movie on the TV in the corner of the room, Damian began to move. Tim watched with interest as he moved to the edge of the couch, leaned over to pick up Rowan's head and shoulders, and slipped to the ground. He put his back against the couch and let Rowan's head fall into his lap. He did this all without either one of them saying a word, and not one look or protest from Rowan. Recognizing their position from the times he'd visited Rowan with Damian, Tim moved closer to allow Damian to lean some of his weight onto Tim's leg.

To anyone who'd never spent a sizable amount of time with them, the move was startling to say the least.

"Okay is this girl blackmailing you or something, because you're touching Tim and limbs aren't being broken. You haven't even started a fight yet and it's been hours." Jason began, voice incredulous. "And you actually did something nice." He finished, gesturing towards Rowan.

Tim just sighed and looked at Jason.

"Don't question it. Just enjoy it while it lasts."

Damian sneered, and pulled the chocolate from Rowan's grip to set it on the couch. He also took off her glasses and put them beside her chocolate. Tim waited for a sound of protest, but there was none. He looked down, and for the first time, noticed that Rowan had fallen asleep.


End file.
